Lollobrigida's jewels sell for nearly $5M

GENEVA (AP) — Sotheby’s auction house says the diamond collection of Italian screen actress Gina Lollobrigida fetched $4.9 million, some of which she plans to donate to stem cell research.

The auction house said Wednesday that eight bidders fought for Lollobrigida’s pair of diamond and natural pearl earrings, which finally sold for more than $2.3 million and set a new auction record for such an item.

It was among the highlights in a collection of 23 jewels that the 85-year-old actress, who starred opposite Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra and other top actors in the 1950s and 1960s, was selling partly to fund an international hospital for stem cell treatment.

Lollobrigida’s jewels were the top draw at an auction of hundreds of pieces that Sotheby’s said Wednesday brought in an estimated $78 million.